SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
avathArikai (Introduction)
sarvESvaran tells AzhwAr “You had said in thiruviruththam 91 perungiRiyAnai allAl adiyEn nenjam pENaladhE and in the previous pAsuram nin kaN vEtkai ezhuvippanE, appearing very worried. If you keep meditating on these aspects, you will keep feeling distressed, unavoidably. If you look at other samsAris you would find that they are totally devoted to worldly pursuits, enjoying themselves, spending their time eating and sleeping. Could you not follow their practice, forgetting about me and engaging with worldly pursuits?” AzhwAr says “They are indulging in all these, since they do not know you”
Let us go through the pAsuram and its meanings:
ezhuvadhum mINdE paduvadhum pattu enai UzhigaL pOyk
kazhivadhum kaNdu kaNdu eLgalallAl imaiyOrgaL kuzhAm
thozhuvadhum sUzhvadhum sey thollai mAlaik kaNNArak kaNdu
kazhivadhOr kAdhal uRRArkkum uNdo kaNgaL thunjudhalE
Word-by-Word Meanings
ezhuvadhum – the way of creating
mINdE – the same way
(immediately)
paduvadhum – the way of perishing
pattu – being born
enai UzhigaL – for a very long time
pOy – passing all these
kazhivadhum – (later) perishing
kaNdu kaNdu – seeing repeatedly
eLgalallAl – other than despising
imaiyOrgaL – nithyasUris’
kuzhAm – their gathering
thozhuvadhum – worshipping
sUzhvadhum – going in circumambulation
sey – carrying out
thollai – ancient
mAlai – sarvESvaran
kaN Ara – such that eyes get satisfied
kaNdu – worship
kazhivadhu – such that time passes
Or – being unique
kAdhal – due to desire
uRRArkkum – those who are fitting aptly
kaNgaL – their eyes
thunjudhal – closing (sleeping)
uNdO – could it happen?
Simple Translation
Other than giving up the repeated cycles of taking birth and perishing after sometime, for those who desire to see to their eyes’ content, sarvESvaran who is surrounded and worshipped by nithyasUris, will hurdles such as closing the eyes (sleeping) occur?
vyAkyAnam
ezhuvadhum . . . – there are two interpretations. First interpretation: either being born and perishing immediately or being born, living for sometime and perishing. Just as it has been mentioned in chAndhOgya upanishath 5-108 “jAyasva mriyasva” (being born and dying) some people die within moments of being born while some are born at the time of creation and die at the time of deluge. To AzhwAr, both appear identical.
kaNdu kaNdu eLgal allAl – if one were to analyse these, they will only appear to be fit to be ridiculed. Would anyone give up his/her involvement with you? [asks AzhwAr of sarvESvaran]. eLgai is despising/ridiculing. If one looks at the fault in this repeated cycle of taking birth and perishing, one would feel detachment towards them.
Second interpretation: ezhuvadhum . . . – repeated rising and setting [of the sUriyan, sun]. Even if one were to see these for many days
eLgalallAl – instead of being involved with you, is your matter such that we could move away from you? Here, eLgai refers to being involved. The implication here is that having developed desire for you and having waited for such a long time, instead of waiting patiently for the remaining time too, to attain you, could we say “We have been waiting for a long time; there is no sign of attaining sarvESvaran; hence we will move away”? If there are faults in your matters, it may be apt to give you up. When you are distinctly superior to everything and since there is a natural relationship between us, can we leave? Reference is made to thiruvAimozhi 2-5-4 “eppozhudhum nAL thingaL . . .” (sarvESvaran is new to his followers, every second, month, year, epoch etc)
imaiyOr . . . – sarvESvaran is one who has been constantly worshipped and followed by the gathering of nithyasUris who cannot keep their mind on anyone other than you, just as it has been mentioned in mahAbhAratham mOksha parvam 16-4 “nithyAnjaliputA hrushtA:” (feeling happy, with joined palms) and in SrI bhagavath gIthA 11-40 “nama: purasthAdh atha prushtathas thE” (offering salutations from the front and from the rear) and considering this to be the sole purpose of their existence.
kaNNArak kaNdu – just as it has been mentioned in SrI rAmAyaNam sundhara kANdam 40-3 “gAthrai: SOkAbhikarSithai:” (sIthAppirAtti tells hanuman ‘with my limbs emaciated by grief, I wish to touch that SrI rAma, the tiger among men’) the desire will be satiated only if sarvESvaran is seen. In other words, only that desire will get fulfilled on seeing him. What comes subsequently is the strong affection towards him which follows the jIvAthmA’s nature of being subservient to him.
uRRArkkum – for those who have that affection firmly.
uNdO . . . – we have heard that the fully independent perumAL (SrI rAma) had slept; however, have we ever heard that iLayaperumAL (lakshmaNa) who followed him to the forest, had ever slept? Have we ever heard before that those who are involved with sarvESvaran had closed their eyes [slept]?
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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